On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Two Hundred And Seventy-Nine

I had a lot to think about, but since there was still some time until the second session of the Conclave, I decided to go and see if I could find my sister and the others, as they were involved in a series of smaller, less formal events for shrines and temples to mingle. Leaving behind the Diviner, Matsumuro-san, who was fending off the Imperial Princess, who was trying to cling to her, which was an endearing image and not one I thought I would ever see only a few months ago, I was followed out by Shaeula, and also by Mine-san. On seeing I had noticed, she shrugged.

“Well, like, it’s a bit overbearing for me in there, right? Too many important people. And well, I do know you a little, right?”

“Important? Are you saying I, a princess of the Seelie Court, am not-not important?” Shaeula sniffed, and Mine-san hastily apologised, not realising Shaeula was teasing her. Putting that aside, I made my way through the Imperial Palace, still a bit surprised at the flock of shrine maidens and priests everywhere, a sight few people would ever see. It wasn’t long until I was able to find some familiar faces, with my sis, Kana and Marika-san, being escorted by Hyacinth, in amidst a group of people around their age. On seeing us, my sis brightened, waving us over.

“Hey bro, what kept you?” she called over. “How’d things go? Where’s Eri?”

As exuberant as ever. “Eri’s helping Haru-san take care of some admin for me. She’s quite enthusiastic about learning things right now, so it makes sense.”

“I see. Yeah, Eri-san worries that she’s not being useful. She sure does like you a lot, Akio.” Kana chimed in. “So, you still following him around?” she looked at Mine-san, who looked away quickly, her piercings chiming softly.

“Well, I’ve got, like, nothing better to do right now, right?”

“Sure, sure.” Kana laughed. “By the way, these are some people from various shrines in Tokyo and the surrounds we haven’t dealt with yet. Don’t worry Akio, we’ve been busy. Though…” she grinned impishly. “… Aiko-chan surely is popular. The girls think she’s cool, and the boys…” a few of the younger priest apprentices were blushing at her words, and I raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Wow, gee Kana-chan, don’t be a pain! Sure, a few guys were interested in me, why not? I’m beautiful right, and when they heard our stories about the Boundary… besides, Kana-chan is pretty popular too.” She grinned. “Jealous much, bro?”

“Why would I be jealous of my sis getting the attention she deserves?” I patted her on the head gently, causing her to flush and giggles to spread through the watching crowd.

“Hey bro, quit it!” she knocked away my hands, embarrassed. “And you know I meant of Kana-chan, right? Don’t pretend to be a dense harem protagonist, someone with as many girls as you doesn’t get to pull that crap!”

“Well, of course Kana would be popular. She’s pretty and has a bright future.” I looked at the young people around us. “Of course I’ll be happy if you are popular. Though any boy that treats you poorly will regret it.” I said, and my sis sighed, while Kana turned pink.

“You know, I really want to punch you now, but I know it’ll only hurt me.” Kana sighed. “You must be doing that on purpose. Besides, what are you, my dad? Seriously, sometimes I wonder just why I like you, Akio…”

“I’m just messing with you.” I grinned, but Hyacinth chimed in then, and the faces of those around us went pale.

“Hyacinth was watching, sooo you do not have to worry!” She said proudly. She certainly attracted attention, her looks and her flashy maid outfit were in great contrast to the hakama and robes most of the attendees were wearing, including Kana, Marika-san and my sis, of course. Even so, the more perceptive were acting wary around her, for good reason. “I did cooonsider strangling those pests who were bothering them to death, but I dooo remember I am not supposed to do that, unless they are in danger. It is annoooying, though. She should nooot be bothered by these fools!”

“I keep telling you it isn’t like that. Sure, I like Akio, but I’m not going to chase him like a loser!” Kana protested, and Hyacinth went into a long rant about how it was obvious she should be mine. The grim atmosphere dispersed, although I couldn’t help but notice a few of the boys looking disappointed. Including…

“Hey Ren-san, Chiaki-san, Chiasa-san.” I spotted Hikawa-san’s children at the back of the crowds. Ren-san was looking at Kana. Well, they are similar ages, and Kana is very cute. “Have you recovered from this morning?”

Ren-san scowled a little, but his ever-polite sisters bowed, like mirror images of each other. “Yes, thank you Akio-sama. It was hard and painful, but we have recovered.” The first said, before the second agreed. “We spread the word amongst other suitable people as you wished, Akio-sama. If we… have to assist you again, we will. Though I do wish the pain was less.”

“Well, I won’t ask you to overuse your abilities.” I consoled them. “Anyway, if you are looking for your father, he’s in a meeting with the heads of the three factions.”

“All three?” Ren-san asked, his sullenness forgotten. “But we are Susanoo faction…” I could see a lot of the other people in the room listening intently for my answer.

“Well, things have changed. Uh… well, it looks like Tsukuyomi is disbanded, as Kudou-san has decided to throw his weight behind me and the Ministry. So there’s a lot to discuss.”

“Way to go, bro!” My sis declared, puffing out her chest proudly, as if it was her own achievements. Which of course has boys and girls alike eyeing her. Damn, she’s full of energy since she got her new classes this morning. I can’t say I blame her though. “Already making the big moves!”

“Can you expect anything less-less?” Shaeula was also proud. “Akio is clearly the most experienced there, and his power-power has been demonstrated clearly to them, as well as his foresight.”

Speaking of Foresight… ugh, the disaster seems a little stronger now, but I don’t see what’s changed. It’s imminent too. I have to have Hyacinth and the others on high alert. Though surely nothing could happen here at Conclave, right? Even so, I can’t take chances… I looked at Hyacinth and she nodded, interpreting my caution, as expected from someone who prided herself on serving.

“So, Akio-sama, if I may ask…” Marika-san said shyly, tugging gently at my arm. “… what did grandfather decide?”

“Yeah, I need to know as well. I don’t think my grandfather would be stupid enough to forsake you, but he does honour his commitments.” Kana said.

“Don’t worry.” I reassured them. “Both of them decided to stand with me.” I looked at Ren-san and the twins. “Your father is still in Susanoo, but it isn’t like we are at odds or anything, and he said he’d let you decide yourselves and sit behind me.”

“I see.” Ren-san said, pensive.

“Enough with the gloom. Leave the politics to my bro, it’s boring!” my sis declared brightly. “Bro, these are the people I want to introduce you to. And get this… one is a shrine maiden at Kanda-Myojin shrine, and she knows the centre of Red and White! She reckons she might even be able to get us in to meet her afterwards…” as my sister gushed with enthusiasm, I put on a smile and started my meet and greet of the various apprentices and shrine maidens, knowing expanding my support base would be vital in the long term…

********

“You look tired. Must be, like, hard being a big-shot.” Mine-san commiserated, still with me. I had indeed exchanged a lot of greetings with various young people, a lot of whom were very interested in the stories Kana and my sis had told them. Shaeula had stayed behind with them and was going to re-join me for the second session of Conclave, but Mine-san said she had nothing better to do.

“Well, it isn’t what I originally planned for my life.” I agreed, heading for where Kana told me her friends likely were, and possibly our parents. “Before this I was just a freelancer, working on various IT and gaming projects. It was a living, but hardly luxurious. Still, working for yourself has its charms. Less pressure!”

“Well if you ask me, you look like you are handling the pressure just fine.” She sighed. “I wish I was, like, half as composed as you are. I mean, I have enough trouble playing it cool with Yamato-sama. If I hadn’t been Chosen, I’d never even have bothered turning up for Conclave. And here’s you, basically, like, capturing the Diviner. I mean, even I’d heard of her, and I don’t give two shits about the faith. Uh… guess I shouldn’t say that now, in case they’re listening, right?” she grinned weakly, looking younger than she was. “I guess blaspheming now is bad, right? Still, you, like… were talking to the faction leaders and even the damn Imperial Princess like they were your equals, no… like you were above them. That takes some serious stones.” She giggled. “That girl… Kana-chan. You really pissed her off though.”

“Well, it’s complicated. I like Kana, she’s fun and charming and cheeky. She reminds me of Eri, a bit, though she’s way more outgoing. But… well, again, it’s complicated.”

“It sure is.” She laughed. “Oh man, like, talking to you is fun. I can calm down, you know? Fighting, I may have a delinquent haircut…” she touched her shorn, bleached blonde hair on one side. “… but I’m actually, like, kind of a wuss. So it was reassuring to be with someone who knows what they’re doing, you know?”

“Well, that’s understandable. At the start… well, to be honest, it’s a miracle I’m still alive. In the beginning, all I could do was…” I regaled her with some stories of my early fumbling through the Boundary, earning some laughs and more gasps, before we reached a room where some familiar faces were standing outside, in their black suits. On seeing me, Aliyah waved, looking relieved.

“Well, hey boss. With another woman I see?” Aliyah looked at Mine-san appraisingly. “Bit old for your taste, right?” she snorted, only for her brother to attempt to cuff her around the head, but she swayed aside gracefully. “Stop that, jackass. I’m just saying…”

“Excuse her, she’s been doing her job properly.” Trey apologised on her behalf, earning him a glare from her frosty blue eyes. “She’s just relieved to see you. Other than your family, nearly nobody here speaks decent English. It’s stressful.”

“Well, you should learn Japanese. You’ll be working for me for a long time.” I advised, and Aliyah snorted.

“Good luck with that. Trey was supposed to learn Russian, but he can barely say a few words.” Aliyah shook her head.

“So you speak Russian?” I asked, interested, and she nodded.

“I’m not fluent, but I can get by. Shit, a lot of jobs involve Russia or China nowadays. Although I guess that’s over.”

China, huh? “Maybe not. Well, I’m learning Chinese at the moment, and I guess Russian would be handy too. Maybe I’ll get you to give me some lessons.”

“You? I’d much rather teach your sister…” Aliyah sighed. “At least she’s cute…”

Mine-san giggled. “You do have a lot of troubles.”

“What did she say?” Aliyah asked sourly, and I shook my head.

“Nothing offensive. Anyway, can either of you fly helicopters? And do you have any contacts in China?”

“That’s a strange tangent.” Trey asked. “Well, we have dedicated pilots in the Black Wolf, who should be coming to Japan as soon as the clearance from your government is finished. Not all of them quit. As for us… yeah, we can, though don’t expect a smooth ride.”

“Trey handles the stick worse than his stick, if you know what I mean.” Aliyah rolled her eyes.

“Well, maybe if you had some experience with sticks yourself, you wouldn’t fly like a drunken moron…” he shot back, and as they bickered, I sighed. I mean, I can tell they are close siblings, which I definitely approve of, but they could do with fighting a bit less…

“All right. that gives me some options. Anyway, China?” I reminded them.

“Well, like everyone, we know a few guys. Why?” Aliyah asked.

“Oh, nothing I want to discuss here.” I cautioned them, and being seasoned professionals they both understood. “But later. Oh, and one last thing, have you noticed anything suspicious around here? I know you don’t speak Japanese, but I trust your instincts. I have a bad feeling, and last time I had that, shit went south, as I believe you Americans say.”

“You have to trust your instincts.” Aliyah agreed. “I knew you were bad news the first time I saw you. You were checking me out, too…” she sniffed, crossing her arms under her ample chest, which was odd as she didn’t like being looked at, yet it certainly drew attention to her assets. I’m definitely not looking though. Definitely. Ignoring the urge to use aether to widen my field of view, I nodded, listening to their report.

“Nothing leaps out. Since we don’t speak the language, we rely on universal tells, body language, tone, sweating, that sort of thing.” Trey jumped in. “As far as I can see, everything is normal. Well, not normal, but…”

“Yeah, everyone seems excited, tense. But nobody seems out of place or particularly suspicious, although there do seem to be some smaller meetings happening. Since the main session broke up, there’s been a bit of a change in the demeanour of a lot of people.” Aliyah observed. “A sense of urgency seems to be spreading, though it isn’t affecting everyone. You’d know better than us what went on in there.”

“Yeah, there were big changes to the status quo already. It’s only natural for the factions to communicate with their members who weren’t able to attend the main meeting. Keep up the good work, and if you find anything suspicious, you can link in with Grulgor or Hyacinth. Speaking of…”

I exchanged some final words with my newly-recruited mercenaries, before heading in to find the others, Mine-san still in tow…

********

“So is she your new girl, Aki?” My mother said, embarrassingly loud, peering at Mine-san. “How cool! You look very punk-rock!” She gave a thumbs-up, and I could hear people around us sniggering. As usual, my father, and uncle and auntie didn’t look pleased, so I hurriedly denied it.

“No way, Mine-san here is just a colleague. She’s like me, a Candidate, and we went to the Boundary here together. She’s just tagging along as she wanted to get out from the meeting we were having. Too many higher-ups for her taste.”

“Aww, such a shame. You don’t have any girls like her, Aki. That’s a niche you need to fill!” my mom giggled, until father told her off. Mine-san shrugged, before her own smile turned malicious.

“I don’t think he’d be interested in me, when he, like… totally has the Lady Diviner eating out of his hand, and the Imperial Princess Mikasa called him Akio-san.” She mimicked.

Oh great, mom is going to just eat that up… “I know we are in the old Imperial Palace, but to think a princess…. Wait, should I be surprised? After all, Shaeula is…” she burst out, confirming my expectations. I guess we are never too old to be embarrassed by our parents…

“Emi, do contain yourself.” Auntie Hana sighed. “Don’t you feel sorry for my little Eri when you go on like that…”

“Sorry, father, uncle.” I said apologetically. “As I said, I have no intention of chasing after women. Shiro was the last.”

“So you say.” My father sighed, giving me a stern glare. “In any case, putting aside whoever this Lady Diviner is, I doubt very much that an Imperial Princess, even a rather reclusive one such as Princess Mikasa, would be interested in you. Now, our report.” He looked at uncle Junpei.

“It’s been interesting, definitely.” He sighed. “There are a lot of priests and priestesses here who are unable to attend the main Conclave. They tend to stick with their own factions, but with assistance from some of those you have gathered, we mingled. There were a lot of people interested in Chirurgery. I can see why…” Uncle clenched a fist. “I’ve felt great ever since the irritating itching and pain wore off. But for them I guess it’s more spiritual.”

“Indeed.” My father agreed. Mine-san was talking with mom and auntie, so I gave my full attention to this talk. “I still find it near-impossible to believe any of this, and I have seen it with my own eyes. Those of the old faith… well, it still surprises me that they have carried on such traditions, and that Chairoakitara shrine is one of them. They of course want to be able to see the world where their kami reside themselves.”

“Yes, though they are very wary of committing to anyone outside of their faction.” Uncle confirmed. “Although some were less reluctant than others.” He pulled out a notebook with a list of names, shrines and numbers. “I think there might be some profit in contacting these people. Huh, why are you smiling?” he asked me.

“Oh, it’s just Eri is currently doing something similar, helping out Haru-san gather information. Having you do it as well just struck me as funny, uncle.”

“My little girl…” Uncle shook his head. “She’s definitely grown up. Though…” he looked at Mine-san, who was still bantering with mom. “… she has a lot of troubles ahead.”

“Don’t we all? But seriously, nothing’s going on with Mine-san. I’ve only met her recently, and she feels she owes me, as I did her a favour in the Boundary last night.” She’s a nice girl, sure, and kind of fun. Being as she’s a Candidate, we’ll likely be working together too…

“You seem to be doing a lot of favours for women recently, son.” My father warned. “As your mother would tell you, you should be careful of that. Women are always reading things into what men do. It would not do to lead them on.”

“I’ll be careful. Though it’s hardly like women are going to throw themselves at me just because of that.” I shrugged. “Oh, isn’t that Marika-san’s mother over there?” I noticed her talking to a group of older women.

“Yes, she wanted to speak to other shrines, so that she might understand what her daughter is involved in. I suppose it is hard for those not from the shrine side of the family to comprehend.” Father agreed. “I think her stance is softening, hearing others talk about it so candidly.”

“Speaking of… Uncle. Eri’s been telling me you’ve been complaining about the money I send to you.”

“We have enough.” He said, scratching his cheek, a sign of nerves. “I know we are family, but even so, it feels bad. Sometimes too much kindness hurts, son-in-law.”

“I get that. But… well, how about you work for me? I’m going to need more and more people, and who can I trust more than family?” I’ve been thinking about it for a while. When Eri and Aiko move to Tokyo, our parents… they could move too… As Uncle expressed some shock, I started outlining my plans. It’d also be better to keep our families close. That way, if danger threatens, I can respond more easily…

********

Time was running out before the next session of Conclave. After speaking to my father and uncle for a while, I had ducked out, leaving Mine-san still bantering with my mother and auntie. Towards the end there Mine-san was looking rather henpecked. I hope they weren’t too hard on her. Poor woman.

It didn’t take me too long to find my last group. Kana’s friends, Asami-san and Mio-san, along with Takagi-san, Maiko-san and several apprentices and shrine maidens from my allied Susanoo shrines were in a big group, the hulking figure of Grulgor watching over them in his suit, looking like a nightclub bouncer. On seeing me he nodded reassuringly, and I was reassured, as if there was any trouble here Grulgor should be able to handle it.

“Oh hey, it’s Akio-san!” Mio-san declared, and I was relieved that they weren’t calling me -kun at least. “Did you come to see how we were doing?”

“How was your meeting?” Asami-san asked. “It went well, I hope? Kana will be gutted if not.” She smiled wickedly at her absent friends’ expense.

“Yeah, pretty good.” I admitted. I saw that Maiko-san looked a little uncomfortable, so I decided to check on her. “It must be rough, being in a different faction to the others. Are you managing all right?”

Maiko-san managed a nod. “Well, everyone is kind, and I have Hisano-san here.”

Takagi-san reacted at that, looking pleased, and it was heart-warming to see them get along.

“That’s good. But don’t worry, things have changed. I’ve kind of got my own faction now. Tsukuyomi, well… finished, and a good chunk of them joined me, as did your father.”

“Hey, is that true?” a young man asked, and I nodded.

“Yeah, I daresay that this evening you’ll hear more, we are hashing out the final details.” A muted buzz went around at that, people talking excitedly about the shift in shrine politics.

“So, enough of that.” Mio-san said, excited. “Everyone our age is talking about Red and White! I hear the centre is here somewhere, but we haven’t seen her, and we sure have been looking!”

“That’s right!” Takagi-san said, suddenly animated. “I can hardly wait for the concert. It isn’t every day that we get to see something so amazing!”

“Well, Kana actually met someone from her shrine. She thinks we might get to meet this girl afterwards, and…”

“Seriously?” Takagi-san grabbed my hands, shocked. “That would be amazing!” she then yelped and released me, flushing and looking down, her lenses covering her eyes, Maiko-san giggling at her shock.

“Hisano-san really is an idol fan. Not that I blame her…” Asami-san said, having warmed to the shy girl and classmate over the time they had spent training together.

“Well excuse me.” She protested weakly. “I can’t help it. She’s so cool, and I couldn’t get tickets to the Christmas Eve concert… I didn’t win the lottery…”

Watching them chat away, Maiko-san seeming a little relieved, I held in a smile. I was a bit worried about Maiko-san and Shuta-san, being as they were the only Amaterasu shrine in my group, but it seems my worries were unfounded. And now Saionji-san seems to be more reasonable than I’ve been told, that problem should hopefully disappear. I’ll never eliminate factions entirely, that’s human nature, but with the Ministry, my support and the hard work of everyone… I watched as more people I didn’t know joined in the conversation about the idols… I should be able to get everyone on the same page.

Smiling, I slipped away, leaving them to it. So, what’s going to happen at this session of Conclave? Hopefully it’ll be less dramatic than the last…